Somewhere last year, I was reading an economic depiction of Spain and it’s fifty provinces. Roughly twelve of them make up fifty-percent of the tax revenue of the country. The areas with the tourism? They make up most of the twelve as well.
What Catalonia wanted was just some fairer way of tax revenue return to their own region. You couldn’t do that, without screwing over the lesser regions of the country.
Same problem brewing in Italy, and to a lesser degree in Germany.
Veneto (Venice) and Lombardy (Milan) held referendums last week on increased autonomy. About 60% turnout in Veneto and 40% in Lombardy. More than 95% yes vote in both regions.